Tehillim 69 | “This Will Please the Lord More Than Any Ox”

After the psalm specifies the suffering of the poet and the salvation he has received, the psalm turns to the ways he will offer thanks to God. In this context he introduces a striking idea: “I will praise the God's name with song; I will glorify Him in thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than any ox or any horned and cloven-hooved bull” (69:31–32). The poet claims that a heartfelt song of gratitude is more pleasing to God than even the grandest sacrificial offering. The thanksgiving offering is meant to reflect the inner gratitude to God's grace of the person who brings it, and a song of gratitude, can express that feeling in the most profound way.

Some people want to claim, based on this psalm and other psalms in Tehillim and the Prophets, that God is opposed to the entire sacrificial system, but this is not true. The message here is similar to what we already saw in Psalm 51. There, too, the poet says that God does not desire sacrifices: “You have no desire for me to bring a sacrifice” (51:18). But that psalm takes a clear turn: “To God, a broken spirit is an offering… then You will delight sincere sacrifices, burnt offerings and whole offerings” (51:19–21). When a sacrifice is offered on its own, it is worth little, but when it is accompanied by genuine heartfelt thanksgiving, then it becomes the highest expression of gratitude. It’s like the difference between a gift and a letter of thanks. If someone gives his wife a gift, but without any thought or effort, even if it’s an expensive gift, it misses the mark: it doesn’t express gratitude, and it doesn’t bring their hearts closer. A sincere letter, coming out of the heart, always reflects depth, shows care, and draws people near. But a gift that comes with a heartfelt letter contains a depth greater than anything else. His wife appreciates the effort he put in, and she reads the words he wrote. That is a sacrifice offered with a song — both an offering, and the heart.